Think globally, act locally!

Tue, 27 May 2008

There's a lot more to saving biodiversity than huge international conferences. This is why today fifty cities from thirty countries met in Bonn to discuss the role of local authorities in achieving the 2010 biodiversity target.

Photo: IUCN

Speaking at the opening of the Mayors' Conference "Local Action for Biodiversity" taking place in parallel to COP9, William Jackson, IUCN Deputy Director General reminded mayors of the scale and the urgency of biodiversity loss, and asked them to take responsibility for biodiversity beyond their city borders.

"No agency is better positioned to manage urban biodiversity and to educate citizens about its importance than local government," states the draft Bonn Call for Action, a joint statement to be presented during the high-level Ministerial Segment at COP9 on Thursday. Delegates to the Convention on Biological Diversity had agreed on a recommendation on cities and biodiversity yesterday.